The Automotive Applications Council (AAC) of the American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI) Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI) has been named the winner of the American Metal Market's 2010 Award for Steel Excellence in the environmental responsibility/stewardship category. Lawrence W. Kavanagh, president of AISI's SMDI, accepted the award during a celebration dinner at a ceremony June 22 in New York City at the Steel Success Strategies event.

The UltraLight steel projects show how automakers can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fuel consumption, and deliver vehicles with the lowest CO2 impact over a vehicle's life cycle. The projects proved a weight reduction of 25 to 34 percent is attainable through the use of advanced high-strength steels.

According to Ron Krupitzer, vice president of Automotive Applications for SMDI, the $40 million investment in the global UltraLight initiatives revolutionized the way steel was used in vehicle applications. The project showed for every 1 million vehicles made according to these designs, nearly 2.1 million tons of CO2 emissions and 171.3 million gallons of fuel per year could be saved.

American Metal Market's inaugural awards recognize pioneering efforts that companies or institutions have taken to improve competitiveness and demonstrate excellence in their operations across 12 categories. Winners were selected at the Steel Success Strategies 25th anniversary — with more than 1,000 delegates from the global steel industry — by a panel of steel industry experts and executives.